Plan Your Career - Skill you need for the future

We all still remember how naif and how excited we were to work at our first ever job, as we work and progress climbing up the corporate ladder we often forget or refuse to seriously think of how our life will be when we are at the age of 55 - the pension age -

At the age of 20-30, workforce tend to work long hours and willing to do work after hour, a simple "thank you" or "a treat to the restaurant" is enough to compensate those long hours of work for the employer, it's the age of exploration and excitement, "we care not of what the future hold, we only care what challenges to overcome today" - it's the hymn they all sang :D

At the age of 30-40, workforce has other priorities - that is building a family, focus on settle-ling down, no longer interested in working long hour, no longer satisfy with "thank you notes" or "a treat to the restaurant" , workforce start to think, start to weight the cost vs benefit of working, start thinking "there's more than this", workforce start thinking of having their own business, more free time for families, more variable revenues beside the regular monthly income - the world is starting to weight in-, the workforce feel they are not maximizing the talent they have.

At the age of 40-50 workforce has their past life played in slow-motion it's regret or pride, they look forward in optimism or in pessimism , there time is running out if they don't invest enough in building business network or business capital the have less options, if they invest enough they can reap the fruits of their network all doors seems to open wider and wider.

Seeing this, I try to create a simple infographic showing what skills is needed to plan our career and what problems and solutions that might appear in ones career from time to time.

Hopefully this simple infographic could help us all in planning our future.

if you have other comments or inputs please don't hesitate to reach me, let's have a discussion

How to be creative and apply creativity as a science and not as “dumb luck”

Lots of people perceive I’m a creative person, some say I’m a smart person, honestly I feel very far from those “title” that people put on my forehead using their “virtual-yellow-post-it”, there are times I feel really dumm and there are lots of time when I’m lost in the middle of an activity or a conversation, and sometimes I just don’t have any ideas, but still despite all of that people still consider me as a creative person.

Being considered as a creative person can sometimes “drive up” your nerves, all that constant questions towards you, those silly challenges as if I was a big walking encyclopedia that has all the answer or this walking-talking problem solving computer, although I have to admit there are moments when I enjoy myself being ask silly questions and I felt so “pleased” when I manage to give an alternate solution but still.. c’moonn.

So enough me: spilling over my un-important- narcissistic -self-pity-emotion, I want to share how I get those ideas –  some people call it creativity- to solve those problems:

1.    Look for Patterns
I always look for patterns in an event, something that keep recurring or that is always there when things went wrong, or some action or thing that other company keep using, or what are the similarity of those successful person/company.
Whatever the problem is, I always look for patterns, what have we done in the past, how is it done now, when and where it went wrong.

2.    Look for benchmark (cheat answer by imitating n modifying what other people has done)
I’m no genius I don’t even consider myself creative or smart, so to answer those questions, to solve problems, I go to my trusted “GOOGLE” you just Google it, and patiently click through the URLs, read through articles, and again look for patterns in those articles, find the best practices that is applied elsewhere, note that best practice, try to imitate it, if you can imitate it, modify it and applied, it works all the times.

3.    Create a big elaborate stories and all the component must linked up to each other
When you have the patterns and have best practices from various sources, it’s time to do some association in your head, make up a stories that you can re-tell to other person without reading or cheating, make sure you have all the stories correct and connected, so when people ask you questions and challenges your ideas, you have a story to tell, and people always relate better to stories than just plain facts.

4.    Stay curious
Never ever hold yourself back from being curious, when you have a questions pop-up in your mind, write it down and when you have time look for the answer, it triggers your curiosity it help you learn more and it will build your confident.
At one moment I have a question that people say I’m silly to ask, but no one can answer it, the question is:

How digital projectors can shows black font? digital projector use very bright light to project the object, but how can they project black font, black is the condition without light ? Have you ever thought of that? It took me 5 minutes to come up with an answer, which I won’t reveal it here, how long does it take you to answer that question?

5.    Keep adding that stories
My head filled with stories and with each experience I had from my life, from answering questions, solving problem I added another chapter on that small stories I have in my head, I have many small-short stories that tie up to 1 big story, that is how I can recollect my memories in a short period of time.

6.    Do step 1 over again
Like a vicious cycle of virtue, so does creativity, to apply creativity as a science you have to duplicate the process and re-do them over and over again, being creative is not a “dumb-luck” it’s an exact flow process, even you don’t have that “AHA” moment if you follow the process you’ll have a “spark of genius” – money back guarantee-

The end to my narcissistic blog

5 people that I most respect and thus become my role model : Part 1 : Sergei Korolev

5 people that I most respect and thus become my role model :

Part 1 : Sergei Korolev

Short brief :

He was destined by the Soviet Government to became a carpenter but he refuse to be a carpenter and he taught him self how to build an airplane, and thus he became a airplane designer and than become a leading person in Soviet Rocket research, when Stalin came to power, he was jailed in Siberia sentence to do 10 years hard labor. After the German defeated by Soviet He was called to service to imitate German V2 rocket and from there he became the first man to put a satellite in space, to launch the first dog to space, launch the first man to space, launch the first woman to space and many more, he was a man told to be a carpenter and went to become the “Chief Designer” of Soviet Space Race.  

More on Sergei Korolev can be found at :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Korolev

And this is Why I respect him :

a.       Educate your self to achieve your dream !

As a soviet boy his future is sealed by the job predetermined by the Soviet Government – he was destined by The Soviet Government to be a carpenter yet he managed to study his way out and become Soviet number 1 Rocket Designer and bare the title “Chief Designer”

b.      Stop complaining  and look to the future

He put a side the past behind him and look towards the future – He was prisoned, threatened at gun point by his own Government , yet he see it all as a challenge and not an obstacle, he kept working with his heart and not with his vengeance.

c.       Nothing is impossible just do – Keep persistence nothing is impossible

He work with tight schedule and impossible condition, Sergei was the leading man in Rocket technology he works with limited technology to create new tools to put man in space, what was impossible became possible.

What if … (kayaknya gw puber lagi neehh…)

What if … gw jadi pindah agama waktu gw 3 SD

What if… gw ikut temen2 gw apply beasiswa Nanyang waktu SMA and diterima

What if… gw ambil offer kerja di UT and di kirim ke Kalimantan

What if… gw tetep di usaha pertama gw and stay sampe sekarang

What if … what if… what if…

What if.. what if.. terus bergaung di kepala gw,

Bahkan sampe terbayang …Tuhan datang ke gw, dengan segala kemegahannya, sinar putih yg menyilaukan mata, lalu malaikat di sampingnya sambil diiringi backsound suara music surgawi, lalu ketika Tuhan menjejakkan kakiNya didepan gw tanah pun bergetar, lalu Dia tanya ke gw “Lu gak PUAS sama hidup lu ? kalo gak puas bilang aja !”.. eing ing eng… jantung pun berdebar, keringat segede jagung pun bercucuran dengan dengan muka cool gw akan menjawab “puas kok…puas… makasih ya for everything,.. makasih..”

“ssuuiiirrtttiiuuppp” (maksudnya suara backsound reply) back to reality .. gw bukannya gak puas dengan hidup gw, gw Cuma lagi merasa, ada yang kurang seru dengan hidup gw, it’s all to plain,.. terlalu datar, udah lama juga gw gak nemu excitement, something that excite me,..

Excitement yang membuat gw bangga, excitement yang bisa gw share ke orang-orang, I don’t have that excitement.

So.. mulailah pencarian gw terhadap “apa sih yg bisa bikin orang merasa excited in life” and hasil dari pencarian gw di internet adalah “BORING”!!!, none of those books and web articles helps !!! so I’m starting my own steps *dengan tangan di pinggang dan dada di busungkan* walau gw tau mungkin orang lain akan bilang step2 gw boring

RULE #1 - LET’S PLAY !!!

Playing is nature learning engine !!!, gak tau kapan persisnya kayaknya waktu persisnya ketika gw mulai masuk sekolah, disaat itu pula gw berhenti belajar dan mulai di hipnotis !!, semua binatang dan juga evolusi peradaban manusia dimulai dari bermain!, Bermain adalah cara alam ini mengajar dari bermain kita menemukan masalah2 baru dan masalah2 baru menimbulkan kreativitas, kreativitas menghasilkan solusi, dan solusi menghasilkan kebanggaan, kebanggaan menghasilkan rasa PUAS :D

RULE #2 – FACE THE RISK, WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU WILL ONLY MAKES US STRONGER

Resiko  adalah hal yang paling kita hindari, tapi sebetulnya kalo dipikir2, kapan sih dari resiko yang kita tempuh yang bisa berujung pada kematian ? atau berujung pada kehancuran nama baik kita ? selama resikonya masih kecil2 seperti , dicibir, resiko nyasar, resiko capek, ngulang kerjaan, dkk, let’s face the risk and lets Play (experiment) dengan hal-hal yang baru .. Face the Risk !! asal gak ada yang mati semua masih ok kok

RULE #3 – GET INVOLVE IN SOMETHING AND GET CONNECTED

Siapa yang gak suka punya temen baru, so get connected, aktif di komunitas – komunitas, kalo gak nyaman ketemu temen baru, mulailah kontak2 temen2 lama, ngumpul, talk about something, bikin project bareng, n jalani bareng,.. getting connected and involve in something that matters to you, will bring you to a new level of satisfaction :D – tapi dari pengalaman pribadi gw, too much involvement juga gak bagus, karena akan jadi rutinitas and lu akan bosen juga pada akhirnya

RULE #4 – FACE THE CHALLENGE  TO LEARN NEW SKILL

Kembali ke topic Let’s Play, lihat dunia ini sebagai sebuah permainan dan didalamnya ada tantangan yang perlu dihadapi, gak perlu takut sama resikonya hadapi aja, selesaikan tantangannya dan dapatkan skill- skill baru, jangan liat skill – skill yang gede2 banget kayak bisa masak kue tart 5 tingkat dengan hiasan cupid nungging diatas kue, atau bisa mendulang emas dalam 3 langkah sederhana dari sungai terdekat, bukan skill2 ngejelimet yang kayak gitu, kita belajar skill2 kecil yang simple seperti ketemu cara baru untuk presenting our ideas ke orang lain, skill baru didalam mencari rute baru pulang ke rumah,skill baru didalam mengusahakan lunch gratis di kantor, dll

RULE#5 – TAKE ACTION NOW !

And the last rule is, get your eyeball away from the computer and start exploring the world ! go PLAY somewhere !! hussshh !! hussshhh !! *gaya ngusir kucing di warteg sebelah kantor*

The world is my playground

Rahasia mindset negara Scandinavia, Jepang, Jerman dan Yahudi

Gw penasaran dengan Negara-negara Scandinavia (Finlandia,Norwegia,Swedia), Jepang, Jerman dan Yahudi apa sih yang bisa membuat mereka maju ? gw selalu percaya kesuksesan mereka berasal dari manusia – manusia di Negara tersebut, Negara yang miskin akan sumber dayapun bisa maju  bila manusia- manusia-nya maju, tindakan manusia di Negara-negara tersebut pasti dilandasi oleh suatu nilai – nilai yang mereka pegang erat, atau paling tidak, nilai – nilai tersebut diajarkan kepada mereka semenjak kecil.

Kenapa gw memilih Negara-negara tersebut karena gw kagum dengan Negara-negara tersebut yang :

1.       Jepang - Negara tanpa sumber daya namun bisa maju walau sudah luluh lantak oleh perang

2.       Jerman - Negara pengexpor nomor 1 didunia, negara dengan kekuatan ekonomi terkuat di eropa, negara dengan produk teknologi yang terkenal di dunia

3.       Scandinavia - negara kaya dan maju yang hidup dari menjual patent teknologi

4.       Yahudi - negara yang dibenci oleh banyak negara, tetapi diakui sebagai bangsa terpandai didunia

Blog ini berisi hasil riset internet dan literature gw mengenai nilai-nilai yang diajarkan didalam budaya Scandinavia, Jepang , Jerman dan Yahudi, dibagian awal gw akan paparkan nilai-nilai yang gw temui dan di bagian kedua gw akan “highlite” nilai – nilai yang menurut gw special dan berarti.

 nilai – nilai budaya tersebut adalah

1.       Jepang gw ambil dari pokok-pokok ajaran Bushido

2.       Jerman gw ambil dari nilai – nilai kerajaan Prussia

3.       Scandinavia gw ambil dari nilai – nilai Viking (di puisi2 tradisional mereka)

4.       Yahudi gw ambil dari kita torah 

JEPANG	YAHUDI
Rectitude (義 gi?)	Reverence for God
Courage (勇 yū?)	Equality
Benevolence (仁 jin?)	Love and Kindness
Respect (礼 rei?)	Justice and Mercy
Honesty (誠 makoto?)	Respect for Nature
Honor (名誉 meiyo?)	Truth, Intellect, and Free Will
Loyalty (忠義 chūgi?)	Study and Prayer
Filial piety (孝 kō?)
Wisdom (智 chi?)
Care for the aged (悌 tei?)

JERMAN

Sincerity

Humility

Industriousness

Obedience (but not without Frankness)

Straightness

Sense of Justice („Suum cuique“ = Jedem das Seine = To each his own)

Godliness coupled with religious Tolerance

Toughness, against oneself even more than against others

Courage

Sense of Order

Pflichtbewusstsein (Sense of Duty)

Probity

Self denial

Austerity

Bravery without sniveling  Learn to suffer without moaning!)

Loyalty

Incorruptibility

Subordination

Self-effacement - “ Be more than you seem to be)

Reliability

Punctuality

SCANDINAVIA

Gifting

Generosity

Moderation

The maintaining of frith in all circumstances

Courage

The seeking of good over ill

Hospitality

Courtesy

Tolerance

The pursuit of wisdom and knowledge

The defense of freedom

Industriousness

Vigilance

The protection, nurturing and forbearing of kin

Showing respect for elders

Loyalty to friends and kin

Keeping an oath

Honoring the sanctity of marriage

Refraining from mockery

Refraining from arrogance

Making kin, honor and justice more important than gold

Cleanliness

The maintaining of one's dignity in all situations

Good organization

Persistence

The rule of law

To try ones steel against an opponent fairly

Respect for the dead

For a man to never strike a woman

To not abuse one's power

Dari nilai – nilai diatas gw terkagum atas kedetailan “deskripsi” nilai yang diajarkan, kekaguman gw adalah untuk nilai – nilai :

JERMAN

Industriousness

Obedience (but not without Frankness)

Subordination

Self-effacement - “ Be more than you seem to be)

Sense of Justice („Suum cuique“ = Jedem das Seine = To each his own)

Bravery without sniveling  Learn to suffer without moaning!)

Toughness, against oneself even more than against others

Sense of Order

Pflichtbewusstsein (Sense of Duty)

Punctuality

JEPANG

Benevolence (仁 jin?)

Honor (名誉 meiyo?)

SCANDINAVIA

To try ones steel against an opponent fairly

Good organization

Cleanliness

The pursuit of wisdom and knowledge

Industriousness

Generosity

Moderation

Refraining from mockery

Refraining from arrogance

Making kin, honor and justice more important than gold

YAHUDI

Reverence for God

Justice and Mercy

Truth, Intellect, and Free Will

List kekaguman gw :

1.       Industriousness : disebutkan dengan jelas bahwa di dalam budaya Jerman dan Scandinavia ditekankan pentingnya untuk bersikap industrious ! untuk selalu efisien dan efektif dalam beraktivitas

2.       Obeidence, subordination, good organization, sense of order  : gw kagum bahwa mereka mengajarkan pentingnya organisasi – ada ketua ada bawahan, dan pentingnya untuk patuh terhadap atasan – ini adalah nilai yang sangat kurang di Negara kita

3.       to try ones steel an opponent fairly – toughness, against oneself even more than against others, honor – gw kagum budaya mereka mengajarkan untuk selalu mencoba diri sendiri , untuk berkompetisi dengan orang lain untuk melihat kemampuan diri sendiri - gw gak pernah diajarkan hal ini selama hidup gw, gw selalu diajar untuk menghindari konflik dan jarang sekali didorong untuk berkompetisi dengan orang lain, ketika gw melihat nilai point 3 ini gw tau bahwa budaya “menghindari konflik – kompetisi” yang selama ini ditanamkan didiri gw salah besar

4.       Self-effacement (be more than you seem to be),learn to suffer without moaning - berlawanan sekali dengan budaya local kita yang sering gw dengar “jangan ngoyo, rejeki udah diatur Tuhan” à disini di tekankan bahwa kita harus menjadi manusia yang lebih, dan bersedia untuk bekerja keras  tanpa mengeluh à beda banget sama keluhan yang gw denger dari temen-temen gw, dan terkadang gw juga ngeluh.

5.       Refraining from mockery, refraining from arrogance, benevolence, making kin,honor and justice more important than gold à di luar semua hal-hal yang kesannya sangat kompetitif muncul lah nilai ini, bahwa semua pengejaran terhadap produktivitas dan kesempurnaan dan kemajuan, kita gak boleh ngejek sesama, gak boleh sombong, dan menjalin persaudaraan, kehormatan dan keadilan jauh lebih penting dari semua

So apa yg gw pelajari dari semua ini, gw akan mengadopsi pola pikir dan nilai-nilai diatas, memang secara moralitas nilai-nilai ini pasti ada dibudaya kita, namun budaya kita tidak memaparkan sedetail yang negara-negara maju paparkan dan tentunya gw akan coba mendisiplinkan diri untuk bisa mengikuti nilai-nilai diatas

Progress stars from our mindset – the world is my playground